Sep 5, 2023 | Nonfiction Writing |
Writing holds the potential to provoke a considerable amount of fear. We worry if we can turn into completed prose the vague thoughts in our heads. We’re anxious about what our readers will think of what we’ve written. We’re afraid we’ll never...
Jul 21, 2023 | Nonfiction Writing |
The Nobel-Prize-winning writer William Faulkner published 19 novels, 125 short stories, 20 screenplays, one play, and six collections of poetry. How on earth did he manage to stay inspired? Here’s what Faulkner himself said: “I only write when I am...
May 22, 2023 | Nonfiction Writing |
“Priming the pump” is one of those expressions you probably use without thinking about it. Used metaphorically, it means to encourage the success or growth of a thing by taking steps to get it started. But literally, the origin of the phrase is the...
Apr 18, 2023 | Getting Clients |
“I think I’m really good at what I do,” declares technical writer June, “but I don’t ever seem to get a chance to show people.” June is experienced, highly-skilled, and has written dozens of instruction manuals and other how-to...
Mar 21, 2023 | Nonfiction Writing |
Picture the solitary writer, scribbling alone in a dismal garret. Shivering in a threadbare sweater and fingerless gloves, the writer persists despite poverty, heartbreak, and isolation from humanity, until completing the great work that will lift the writer from...
Jul 26, 2022 | Nonfiction Writing |
The late Maya Angelou kept a hotel room as her writing studio. She took all the art off the walls, and kept the phone unplugged. Arriving there at 6:30 a.m., she wrote until 12:30 or 1:30 p.m. with only a brief break. Every weekday. Sound a little too intense to you?...
